(Copenhagen) A former Danish Defense Minister, Claus Hjort Frederiksen, announced on Friday that he was being prosecuted on suspicion of having divulged state secrets.
Posted at 12:39 p.m.
Minister of Defense from 2016 to 2019, Claus Hjort Frederiksen is under investigation “for having violated the limits of [sa] freedom of expression,” he wrote in a message sent by his party, the Liberal Party.
He is prosecuted, on a preliminary basis, under the suspicion of having disclosed or transmitted “information on secret negotiations, deliberations or decisions of the State in areas on which depend the security of the State or the rights vis-à-vis foreign states, or which affect important socio-economic interests abroad”, according to the Danish Penal Code.
“I spoke as an MP on a political issue and I have nothing else to add at this time. But I could never imagine doing anything that could harm Denmark or the interests of Denmark,” he added, without giving further details on the reasons for this accusation.
He faces up to 12 years in prison.
This announcement comes at a time when the head of Danish military intelligence, Lars Findsen, has been imprisoned for a month for leaking confidential documents.
On December 9, the Danish authorities announced, without revealing their identity, the arrest of four people, former or current members of the two intelligence services of the Nordic country, including Mr. Findsen.
They are accused, among other things, of having disclosed “without authorization highly confidential information from the intelligence services”.
With the exception of Mr. Findsen, the other three people have since been released.
According to the local press, the case relates in particular to leaks of classified information to Danish media. Several journalists were heard by the investigators.